The last for sometime

If you have caught up with my blog lately you will know that I've made the tough decision to give up making bags for the time being to pursue other things that make me happy.

It was an even tougher decision as I had just finished this custom bag for a lovely friend of mine. I have really pushed myself this year to not be afraid to dive in and try new designs and I'm proud to say I think I nailed that one. 

As always I loved making this bag and loved the brief I was set by Michele. It took longer than I anticipated but I got there in the end......

Its a little bit ridiculous that I was so scared of zippered pockets, they weren't half as difficult as I thought they were going to be and this year they have appeared in every bag I've made.

Michele was as pleased with her bag as I was with the end result. I have no doubt in my mind that there will be more bags in the future but it will be as and when I feel the need to get back in the saddle so to speak.

I feel content that I "went out with a bang" with this bag, although it did make me question my decision to stop making bags. That was until I reminded myself of all the new projects/tasks that I was looking forward to getting started on.

I'm hoping all this practice with piping will stand me in good stead to get cracking on those cushions I was planning to make over a year ago!!! :D

So I leave you with this picture........

Bagladee xxx

Almost...

Proudly displaying my very first attempt of piping properly!!! It turned out better than I had hoped. To me it looks magnificent but I think that is mainly due to the fact I have always wanted to accomplish piping and that I didn't have to unpick it once. Was it a fluke I got it first time round? 

I can't really say that for the piping on the seams of the main part of the bag, now that was tricky!! I've come to the conclusion that the thick piping along side the canvas material and extra interfacing to make the bag really sturdy was just too much for me and my little machine to handle. There was quite a bit if swearing and unpicking but it paid off in the end.

I'm really happy with the overall shape of the bag. I just want to do a little bit of tweaking (as I always do). There are some little side panels to fit, a twist lock and the strap of course. Then I am going to tackle the lining, which includes the next thing on my "learn to" list which is to master the zippered pocket!!! 😧

Wish me luck x

'Mama' bag...

Things have been a little slow here at the moment, RSI is limiting how much time I can spend sewing :( this makes me sad. Hopefully with a bit of rest I'll be back to my normal speed. Last week I managed to finish this sample for my new design the 'Mama' bag, this one has found a new home with my Mama (which I thought was very appropriate). More in the making soon.

about bloomin' time!

Today I finally added some new items to my previously neglected website. I spent most of last week re-shuffling pages, changing content and adding new pages. Then yesterday and this morning I busied myself with listing 16 new items. 3 new mini clutches......

9 new felt flower hair bands......

and 4 new cosmetic pouches (1 of which has sold already).

I still have some other items to list and some group images to pop onto the main menu pages but I'm pretty happy with things so far. Please spend 5 minutes popping over to take a look, I always appreciate your feed back and if you spot any errors please let me know. Sometimes you get blind to your own mistakes when you've been staring at the pages for hours ;)

Into the New

Happy New Year everyone!!

 

I normally do a 'best bits' of the previous year round about this time, however I've decided not to this year. Most of my year was dominated by the house move as you all know, so I thought I would just post about what I'm looking forward to for 2013 and my 'promises' to myself.

 

I promise to:

 

Smile more, complain less, make more, plan better, dress up, exercise, do less overtime (that I don't get paid for), keep in touch with friends more, visit family more often, listen to my heart more (rather than my head) and relax more.

 

I thought my post needed some photos so here are some of the very popular hairbands that I made for the recent Christmas fairs I attended. Sold out in an hour........

 

Aren't they cute? I'm currently making a load to list on my website. I love the red, white and blue ones, very British.

 

I'm very much looking forward to what will be in 2013, the main one being settling in to our home properly, baking and cooking more and generally taking the time to enjoy life, time goes over too quick and it seems to be all about the preparing and not actually taking in the events. And of course making lots of new bags and other cute and fun bits and bobs.

 

What are you looking forward to in 2013 and have you made any promises to yourself?

November...so far

 

Saw me finish a very special order...I love these little fella's especially these 50!

 

I also became the proud owner of a Kenwood Mixer, I've wanted one since I was a little girl, now I have one the same as my Mam :) cupcakes!!!!!!

 

I had a manic 2 days cutting out lots of new items, most will be for the Christmas fairs I will be doing in December.

 

Which then made my shiny new studio look like this :( now it looks like my space lol

 

And I had a little fun with some felt in a patriotic theme.

Trinket box

A while ago you might have seen the 'Jubilee' fabric box set I made, well this mini version is from the same pattern just adjusted slightly. The original pattern came from the same one I use for my clutch bags, they have the same design boxed corner, just larger and minus the bag frame they have the same method of sewing in the lining and turning them through.

At the moment I seem to be having new ideas at totally random times, mostly when I'm supposed to be making something else. I'll be mid flow, stop grab a bit of paper do a quick sketch then dive straight into the fabric stash. The down side is that I know have a wip pile the size of a mountain. The upside is that I seem to have found my crafting mojo again and new products are flowing out of me regularly :)

If you look closely you can see the 'new' fabric tags I've made this week, they now say "handmade in England".

Finally things (outside of Bagladee) seem to be coming to fruition and thankfully look like they are to settle down soon. So I should be able to share in the next few weeks. It will also mean I will be taking a break for a couple of weeks, which will give me time to come back with an updated website and some new items.

Watch this space :)

When you dont have one to match...

This weekend I went to my OH's cousins Wedding reception (they got married in Mauritius a couple of weeks ago). I'd bought a dress and luckily had some shoes that matched but didn't have a bag to match.

Thankfully I seem to have the nack for making bags ;) so I decided the day before I would make this little cutie. As my dress had a flowered pattern I decided blocks of colour would be better.

Now she may look small and dainty but in my clutch bag I had x2 Blackberry phones, tin of vasaline, house keys, car keys, bank cards and money. Its all in the pattern cutting ladies. Small but deceiving :)

Already had requests for this style to be added to my website, so watch out for some new bags coming soon!!

Honey I shrunk the Gingerbread Man

I was having another one of my epic tidying sessions in the Studio when I came across a huge pile of small slithers of caramel coloured felt. The same felt that I use for my Gingerbread Men Decorations. I hadn't realised just how many scraps I had accumulated from last year Pre-Christmas makes

Rummaging in my stash of 'bits and bobs' I also found some tiny versions of the heart buttons....hmmmm I wonder.

Sometime later I emerged from a still not tidy Studio, beaming with a smile I handed this little fella to C who answered me with "Oh its a badge".

Yes indeed it is a "badge" well I would like to call it a brooch as I think that sounds far prettier. He is so cute and tiny I am going to have to add him to the Bagladee family of makes and will be quietly busying away making lots of them to add to my website.

I think he deserves a big "Awwwwwwwwwww".

Mini's

I just had to post another photo of the new Mini clutches. With a 6" frame they sit perfect in the palm of your hand, they are talker than the larger clutch and are so roomy inside. This is my favourite fabric at the moment. Trying to get my little mits on some more so that I can make myself a Saddle bag. Hopefully they will be added to the website this weekend.

Hello! Yes this is me....

For those of you who have no idea what I look like......this is me *waves* Hellooooo. This photo was taken by me with my camera, tripod and timer. I think this was 1 photo of about 50, if anyone had actually witnessed me trying to take a half decent photo of my self they would have been in hysterics on the floor. I did chuckle to myself a few times.

This is the reason for the photo, I appeared in a double page spread in this months Sew Hip Magazine. I wasn't sure how big the article was going to be so I nearly fell off my chair when I saw this.

Last year was amazing for me and Bagladee and this year I hope will be just as good, there maybe a few twists and turns coming up on the horizon but I'm ready to face them head on. Life is about the journey and would be pretty boring if we all just mosied along.

I'll be back soon to show you all the gorgeous bags I've been making for BCTF. Not long now, less than 4 weeks. Best get back to it.

A little something new

If I have seemed a little quiet on the blogs lately its because I am busy preparing for BCTF. So as well as juggling orders I am making some new samples for the trade fair. I absolutely adore these new shape purses. For those of you signed up for my newsletter you will have already seen a sneak peak of the new design. (If you haven't signed up you can do so with the link to the right).

I am trying to multi task as these 4 cuties still need their bows constructing but I've already started on some mini clutches and normal size clutches. All new fabrics!!!

Keep your eyes peeled for a giveaway coming soon :D

A little bit of storage

Can you remember a little while back when the very lovely Rachel made me a sewing machine mat? It was crafted from some gorgeous sewing themed fabrics I'd been hoarding for sometime?

Well I decided that I would make some matching storage for my thread bobbins as previously I kept them in a box. Its much more time effective to have them on the desk with my sewing machine so I can dip into them when I need to.

I used a similar pattern to my clutch bags, they have the same boxed corner seams and are lined to the max to give them the same sturdiness to stand up on their own.

I made one from the buttons fabric and one from the bobbin fabric, I wanted a third so I used some of the scraps left to make the lovely one in the middle. As you can see they all have a different colour cotton lining inside.

I'm thinking of adding them to my website to buy as a group of three. I will be offering a bespoke service as well as ready made so if you're wanting a theme I can always accommodate.

I think these were a fantastic accompaniment to Rachel's mat.....I love being coordinated :D

Something for Rachel...

Even though I have a very structured 'To do' list I'm always moving things around and adding little bits here and there. I had two items on the list and without even noticing I had completed both tasks by finishing one :) BONUS!! The two tasks were:

1. To make a birthday gift

2. To  design a new shaped purse (as I was never happy with the original)

I wanted to make a purse for Rachel for her birthday and wanted to make it extra special as it was also a thank you for the fantastic sewing machine mat she made me. So I took the pattern of this purse, which is very lovely but I always knew I could make it prettier and more in keeping with the rest of the bagladee range.

Grabbed some scrap paper a pencil and my trusty grader square (which is the grand old age of 11 years old. I have to say that for a triangle piece of perspex it is along side my most treasured possession of my sewing machine) and got to work adjusting the pattern.

I'm a great believer that everyone has a gift, whether that be being a musician, singer, mother, healer, artist, scientist...you get the picture. Well I've never been that great at academic things, I got by at school with maths etc, but I always excelled at the more creative stuff. English, Arts and languages were my best subjects. But I honestly think my gift is that I can take a piece of paper and a pencil and draw my own patterns from scratch (to be honest I hate following commercial patterns because I enjoy the process of discovery when creating my own).

After one attempt this is what I came up with, it was exactly how I pictured it in my mind and I'm pleased as punch at how it turned out.

I love the fact it is more rounded and mimics the style of the clutch bag and has even more room inside than the previous design. All the time I was making this purse all I kept thinking was "will Rachel like it?" I used the button fabric as she had commented how pretty it was when she made me the sewing machine mat.
Thankfully she did and you can read her post here.

After I'd added the bow and rhinestone flower it dawned on me that I had just created the new shape purse that I'd wanted!!! And to boot made a very pretty present for a very special friend :D I know my gift of "being able to create my own creations from scratch" is not life changing or amazing, but I love it and love the fact that I can put a smile on someones face even if it is just for half an hour. Its still worth it!

Exciting - new additions!!!

Sadly I seem to have lost some followers this week. I do hope its not because my posts are boring or you don't like what I write? I like to think that even if I do ramble on a tad that there are always nice photos to entertain you all.

On a happier note and speaking of photos, yesterday was spent adding all the new items to my website that I took with me to BCTF in April. Yes its shocking that it has took me until now to complete this task but I do have my excuses :) This is one of the new bags I designed early April. A compact saddle bag with an adjustable over shoulder strap, that can be shorted and used as a handbag. I love this print, its def one of my all time favourites. I love to place patterns.

This cute little addition to the bagladee family is a chrome framed coin purse. They replaced my felt purses on the website. I sold out of quite a lot of these at the trade fair but don't worry there are lots more on their way.....cut out and waiting to be sewn together.

And last but not least new chrome framed clutch bags!! I have to admit that these clutch bags were designed for selfish reasons :D I wanted to make a clutch for a wedding that I am going to later on this year so thought while I was taking the plunge to make something out of my comfort zone I would add them to the family too (providing that they turned out OK that is). What do you think? I think they are gorgeous, but then again I am biased ;)

There are lots of other additions too why not pop over and have a browse, there are also some new pages. I've jiggled some bits about and removed some old bits that were looking a bit duff. Let me know what you think.